Searches for HNLs in IceCube: First Results and Future Directions

Neutrino telescopes present a novel opportunity to search for a coupling between Heavy Neutral Leptons (HNLs) and tau neutrinos via mass mixing. These searches leverage the tau neutrino flux from the oscillations of atmospheric muon neutrinos as they traverse the Earth. Furthermore, the large size of neutrino telescopes enables capturing of both the HNL's production and decay. This work presents the first search for HNLs using ten years of data from IceCube's DeepCore sub-array. These results serve as a proof-of-concept for HNL searches in IceCube, enabled by the development of tailored HNL simulation tools. Progress on the development of a new reconstruction to enhance the identification of HNL events by capitalizing on their unique morphology will also be presented.